The rule of thumb is 1 year per inch of thickness, which is generally a high estimate in most parts of the country. I have never dried cedar but I would think it would dry more quickly than other woods. Be sure to sticker and stack it properly.

On another note, I would think twice about building a dining table out of western red cedar since it is so soft (janka rating of 350 puts it right near the bottom in terms of hardness). If you do build a table, plan on it getting very dinged up, especially if kids will be eating at it. I would probably distress it, even though I am not a fan of doing so, so that the first ding doesn't stand out.

 

Find someplace reasonably dry and warm and it will dry in less time then a year. Other big thing is make sure your stickers are truly dry; my applewood was very wet and the stickers weren't perfectly dry, thankfully I checked the stack after 3 weeks and noticed mold was just starting to form between the stickers and wood from the dampness. A quick restack stopped that problem completely. Also don't use oak as the stickers as the tannin is good at staining other woods.
Agree with Paul about the softness, I tried building one with butternut which is 490 on the scale; I dinged it so many times just making it that I cut it down to size and gave it to my daughter. You wouldn't believe the size of the dents that break completely through the poly finish and into the wood and that is just with one 2 year old.

 

The softness issue can be handled by using bar top epoxy on the table top. Brings out the beauty as any clear coating, but stops the dings. Happy working.

 

Conrad

it takes a long time

 

Temperature and airflow in your garage?
What sizes?
How many?
Interior or exterior use?

 

Thanks for the info folks. I have 3 or 4 of each 8 foot 4×4's, 2×4's, and 2×12's. The garage has minimal air flow, and it's getting cool out (the leaves are starting to change color up here) and the garage is not heated (daytime temps in the garage are probably around 15 celcius). I thought about pointing a couple of fans onto the pile, but not sure if that would result in warping due to inconsistent drying. I don't know how long the logs were sitting prior to the milling, likely a couple of months.

Bottom line that I'm picking up is that this table won't be set for christmas dinner this year.

Monte, do you have a specific product you would recommend for the epoxy?

 

Hmm… it could be ready depending on how dry it already is. You will probably want to go pick up a moisture meter. Even a $20-30 unit would work well enough. If you have room inside the conditioned portion of your house, move them there. Depending on how wet they are, they could possibly be ready by late November.

I've had 8/4 stock dry down from 18-20% to below 10% in 3 months. I "think" WR cedar dries relatively quickly.

As to whether it's a suitable tabletop material… well, that all depends. I used pine (200+ year old northern cabin floorboards cut with a water-powered sawmill) for my in house dining table (relatively light usage) with only a coat of beeswax and orange oil to protect it and it's held up wonderfully.

Here it is before it got coated:
http://www.southernsprout.com/inspiration/furnished-table-1/

 

Derosa raises a good point about stickering. I generally store my fresh cut boards vertically until they get down to about 20% MC, at which point mold won't be a threat and the chance of sticker staining becomes remote. This time of year it normally takes just a couple weeks for 4/4 stock to reach 20%.